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Let me be the first to link to Paul Graham here: http://paulgraham.com/gap.html http://paulgraham.com/gap.html http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html http:

Let me be the first to link to Paul Graham here: http://paulgraham.com/gap.html http://paulgraham.com/gap.html http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html

quotemstr 13y ago
These neo-Calvinist arguments are absurd (and cribbed from the 1880s), and the sprinkling of the efficient market hypothesis on top doesn't make them any better. No one individual is billions, millions, or probably even thousands of times more productive than any other able-bodied individual. When you see these massive differences in wealth appear, they must either come from theft or luck, both of which are unfair because they reduce the rewards to labor of the vast majority of humanity and instead funnel unearned power to those least equipped to use it for our mutual benefit.
- MikeCapone 13y ago
  You don't believe that certain individuals can create orders of magnitude more value than others? Or do something for which there is high demand but low supply, hence very high prices? So Steve Jobs and Elon Musk and Larry Page don't deserve their millions?
- thatswrong0 13y ago
  > No one individual is billions, millions, or probably even thousands of times more productive than any other able-bodied individual. Productivity is not the only determinant of wages. Not only that, but it is quite hard to definitively say how productive a person is. And this doesn't even matter because in general, people get paid however much their employer thinks their labor is worth and that's very subjective. And I would say that many people have in fact created billions in wealth for the world. > When you see these massive differences in wealth appear, they must either come from theft or luck, both of which are unfair Luck itself isn't unfair, although you might say that the distribution of luck is 'unfairly' stacked towards the wealthy. > because they reduce the rewards to labor of the vast majority of humanity and I (by luck) invent some fantastic widget that improves the lives of people all over the world and I become a billionaire. By becoming a billionaire, did I really make everyone else poorer? I would say no, because I _created_ wealth. Wealth doesn't have to be taken from other people to be had. I won't disagree that theft (which generally involves government/corruption) is 'unfair', although you'll have to clearly define that word since it can mean anything. > instead funnel unearned power to those least equipped to use it for our mutual benefit. And who is best equipped to use it? What is 'our mutual benefit'? Who determines what is earned and unearned power (wealth?)?
- lutusp 13y ago
  > No one individual is billions, millions, or probably even thousands of times more productive than any other able-bodied individual. That isn't correct. Compare Einstein to an able-bodied laborer. How long will it take the laborer to figure out relativity, assuming an infinite lifetime? Being "able-bodied" isn't much of a consideration in modern times, and in the future, when robots do all the manual labor, it will become completely irrelevant. Not to say we won't exercise for health and enjoyment, only that we won't dig ditches.

Let me be the first to link to Paul Graham here: http://paulgraham.com/gap.html http://paulgraham.com/gap.html http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html

quotemstr 13y ago

These neo-Calvinist arguments are absurd (and cribbed from the 1880s), and the sprinkling of the efficient market hypothesis on top doesn't make them any better. No one individual is billions, millions, or probably even thousands of times more productive than any other able-bodied individual. When you see these massive differences in wealth appear, they must either come from theft or luck, both of which are unfair because they reduce the rewards to labor of the vast majority of humanity and instead funnel unearned power to those least equipped to use it for our mutual benefit.

MikeCapone 13y ago
You don't believe that certain individuals can create orders of magnitude more value than others? Or do something for which there is high demand but low supply, hence very high prices? So Steve Jobs and Elon Musk and Larry Page don't deserve their millions?
thatswrong0 13y ago
> No one individual is billions, millions, or probably even thousands of times more productive than any other able-bodied individual. Productivity is not the only determinant of wages. Not only that, but it is quite hard to definitively say how productive a person is. And this doesn't even matter because in general, people get paid however much their employer thinks their labor is worth and that's very subjective. And I would say that many people have in fact created billions in wealth for the world. > When you see these massive differences in wealth appear, they must either come from theft or luck, both of which are unfair Luck itself isn't unfair, although you might say that the distribution of luck is 'unfairly' stacked towards the wealthy. > because they reduce the rewards to labor of the vast majority of humanity and I (by luck) invent some fantastic widget that improves the lives of people all over the world and I become a billionaire. By becoming a billionaire, did I really make everyone else poorer? I would say no, because I _created_ wealth. Wealth doesn't have to be taken from other people to be had. I won't disagree that theft (which generally involves government/corruption) is 'unfair', although you'll have to clearly define that word since it can mean anything. > instead funnel unearned power to those least equipped to use it for our mutual benefit. And who is best equipped to use it? What is 'our mutual benefit'? Who determines what is earned and unearned power (wealth?)?
lutusp 13y ago
> No one individual is billions, millions, or probably even thousands of times more productive than any other able-bodied individual. That isn't correct. Compare Einstein to an able-bodied laborer. How long will it take the laborer to figure out relativity, assuming an infinite lifetime? Being "able-bodied" isn't much of a consideration in modern times, and in the future, when robots do all the manual labor, it will become completely irrelevant. Not to say we won't exercise for health and enjoyment, only that we won't dig ditches.